A former Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority supervisor is being charged with violating the Clean Water Act.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman, 51-year-old James Paprocki was charged in federal court on Friday, June 11.
Kaufman's office says that while Paprocki was a supervisor at the Aspinwall plant, he and another supervisor directed employees to dump clarifier sludge into the Allegheny River.
Dumping the sludge was a violation of the PWSA's National Pollution Discharge Elimination permit. The sludge was supposed to be sent to ALCOSAN.
“Directing the discharge of pollutants into western Pennsylvania’s rivers is unacceptable and violates federal environmental law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kaufman in a release. “Our office will continue to work with EPA and other state and local environmental regulators to hold offenders accountable and protect the environment.”
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“The filing of these new charges in this investigation shows that EPA will hold responsible those who violate environmental regulations designed to ensure that our communities have safe drinking water,” said Jennifer Lynn, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s Criminal Enforcement Program in Pennsylvania, in a release.
If convicted, Paprocki faces up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.